


Hadley

by Arlatius (Xratis)



Series: The Paradox of Freewill [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Hadley Castilla, Searyth, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 01:52:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11151726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xratis/pseuds/Arlatius
Summary: Hadley was an OC i was originally gonna use as a minor unimportant OC for my ut/reader story "the paradox of free will" but then SIKE he suddenly became a really fleshed out character and a shocking number of people said that they cared about him a ton, when i started moving away from the OCS and into the canon characters some readers actually said they were almost upset that they wouldnt see much of Hadley and Searyth anymoreSo i asked if i should write a spinoff story about him and many people said i should so thats what this is.This story DOES stand alone but youd probably benefit from reading paradox first to get the full effectAnyway searyth is supposed to type with a bunch of emojis but apparently ao3 hates emojis so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯





	Hadley

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Paradox of Free Will](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6477706) by [Arlatius (Xratis)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xratis/pseuds/Arlatius). 



> Hadley was an OC i was originally gonna use as a minor unimportant OC for my ut/reader story "the paradox of free will" but then SIKE he suddenly became a really fleshed out character and a shocking number of people said that they cared about him a ton, when i started moving away from the OCS and into the canon characters some readers actually said they were almost upset that they wouldnt see much of Hadley and Searyth anymore 
> 
> So i asked if i should write a spinoff story about him and many people said i should so thats what this is. 
> 
> This story DOES stand alone but youd probably benefit from reading paradox first to get the full effect
> 
> Anyway searyth is supposed to type with a bunch of emojis but apparently ao3 hates emojis so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Contrary to popular belief, the UnderNet  _ could _ connect to the SurfaceNet. Not easily, sure, but it was absolutely possible. There were areas underground that could pick up the reception that the SurfaceNet provided, long before the monsters were freed hundreds of humans had unknowingly engaged with them online. 

Hadley met Searyth on a baking forum years prior, in his third year of college studying business. He knew what he wanted to do since high school, he had always had a touch for the culinary arts and a large distrust of adulthood so the next step was just obvious. 

It couldn’t be a restaurant, too many people, he wasn't good with people. A café was the next idea, but he had an aversion to the hipsters that would be drawn to a local coffee shop like moths to a flame. A bakery seemed perfect. He liked baking, he  _ loved _ decorating.

His image didn't really fit into the bakery he built in his mind, gentle purples and pinks, baby blue macarons next to marbled jade doughnuts. He had a sharp gaze, was inexpressive, his voice monotone even if he was fighting against it. He was tall,  _ really  _ tall, fit. In comparison to the welcoming bakery he imagined he stuck out like a sore thumb. 

Searyth was a dedicated follower of his, she followed his blog liking and commenting on every photo he posted. Her typing style was cute. 

_ looks yummy !!!  _

_ post the recipe, please  !!! it looks so good i want to try it !!!  _

Sometimes she'd just comment with a long string of emojis that may have made sense to her but not Hadley. It was hard trying to read emojis like hieroglyphics, especially when she'd throw a horse in between a cake and a police car. He didn't know what she was trying to express but there was a kind of warmness to her, that even when she commented [South Korean flag, horse, diamond, purple heart, praying hands, kimono] he knew she was trying to say something nice. 

Hadley had approached her first. Surprisingly. He never approached anyone first, but she seemed a different type of introverted than he was. He opened her profile and sent her a message. 

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ hey ( ⸝⸝•ᴗ•⸝⸝ )੭⁾⁾ i just wanted to say thanks for always supporting me! it makes me happy to get such nice comments on my work ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)  _

She replied instantly. 

**_Wooly:_ ** _ omg  your message surprised me um ... i love your work !!! your cakes are so pretty ! me and my friend like to try to copy your techniques together but they never come out the same  _

Cute. 

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ oh! Σ(･o･;) really?  _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ ah i'm sorry !!! is that bad ...? _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ no no no! that makes me really happy (/ω＼) _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ i'm so relieved ! i was scared i offended you ...!  _

Macaron Man sent an attachment.

**_Wooly:_ ** _ whats this ?  _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ a recipe ! i'm experimenting with it but i dont know what i think yet. maybe you and your friend want to try it out yourselves?  _

She typed for a long time. Hadley's fists tensed. At odds with his appearance he was actually quite shy, it took a lot of nerve to approach this “Wooly” person in the first place. Unable to pry his attention away and focus on something else he sat in the dark room with his laptop sitting on his knees. He watched the ellipse's animation in the corner of his browser. 

Was she typing an essay or what?

He drummed his fingers against the trackpad. Did he offend her somehow? Maybe she mistook his approach as flirting? Was she wary of the attachment because she thought it was a dick pic!? Oh god. 

He moved his hands to the keyboard just falling into position when he heard the  _ ping _ of the messenger. 

**_Wooly:_ ** _ ok !!!  _

Ah.

**_Wooly:_ ** _ it looks yummy  i bet toriel will be excited too !!! _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ toriel? (゜o゜; is that your friends name? _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ mmhm !!! i'm not a very good baker but your pictures are always so pretty i cant help but want to make them ...! toriel helps me ! _

_ Cute _ .

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ oh! ( •̀ㅁ•́ )  _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ when were done how about i send you a picture  ?  _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ yes! tell me what you think of the recipe ok?  _

**_Wooly:_ ** _  will do ! oh !!! my name is searyth by the way _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ hadley _

  
  
  


It was a regular exchange after that. It was charming, her encouragement. For a stranger online Searyth made an excellent taste tester. She always gave her honest opinion, put it as nice as possible but wouldn't sugar coat it. If she thought something was missing she would say so. If she didn't like the dish at all she would tell him as much. She always said it to sweetly, Hadley almost confused her critiques for praise on a number of occasions. It was so sweet, the way she presented her thoughts, that you might not actually pick up what she was trying to convey. 

Hadley was never a religious man, but if angels did exist he knew there was one on the other side of his screen.

She seemed in tune to that, she was fast to clear up misunderstandings before they became such. 

She was a great friend, even beyond their relationship as baker and pastry enthusiast. 

When Hadley had panic attacks after midnight and his assigned roommate left the dorm to avoid having to deal with him Searyth was his anchor. His roommate didn't seem to like him much, and refused to ground him when the pressure of finals weighed down on him like the sins on his back. He had shelves packed tight with books about mindfulness and breathing exercises but nothing was able to pull him back to reality quite like Searyth’s comforting words and attentive ears. Free of physical witness he would text her, tears spilling over the keyboard, until he was too dehydrated to cry anymore. He’d fall asleep and when he woke up there were always two messages left for him: “ _ drink some water when you wake up ok ??” _ and “ _ sweet dreams hadley ”  _

Even though she always suggested him taking a mental health day waking up to such a tender sentiment gave him just enough confidence to go to class.

  
  
  


His finals went well enough, like him his grades were not outstanding but good enough, he passed and that's all that really mattered. 

Searyth seemed heartbroken to be unable to go to his graduation. She lived too far away, but he didn't fault her for it. He got his friend to take a video of him, decked out in his cap and gown, to send her. He spoke about how he couldn't have done it without her, if she wasn't there to support him he would have dropped out a long time ago. He thanked her.

And sure,  _ maybe _ he teared up just a little when talking to the camera, but if there was anyone he was comfortable with letting see him cry it was her. 

**_Wooly:_ ** _ im so happy you thought of me !!!! im so proud of you hadley ! i wish i was able to come … _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ its ok ( ´∀｀) even if you couldn't come you helped me so much… i dont think id be where i am today without your help _

**_Wooly:_ ** _!!! its no big deal  i wanted to make sure you could do what you want to ! I cant wait to meet you and get to try your sweets for myself  _

  
  
  


He graduated at 23, major in business, minor in culinary arts. He worked small jobs for low pay, he couldn't start up a business when he already struggled to pay the rent. Cashier at a major supermarket chain where white gentrifiers asked for the manager daily, personal assistant to some politician prick who had a problem with wandering hands and a lingering gaze, waiter in a Red Lobster– so close to the kitchen and yet so, so far. 

His mother always offered to help support him, just until he could manage it himself. He always refused. He wasn't from a rich family, he wanted that money to go to her.

It was during those late nights that Searyth would stay up with him, telling him that soon _ , soon _ he would be able to build the bakery he's dreamed of for so long. 

Even when she went to bed first Hadley would find himself up for hours staring at the water damaged ceiling, the thoughts of her silenced the rapid arguing in spanish from the home above. 

Those nights, where he was kept up by the thought of her, were somehow some of his most peaceful. He woke up refreshed and there was this feeling in his gut that everything would end up fine.

  
  
  


Hadley was  _ not  _ good at expressing himself. His face was like stone, a carved glare that perpetually read disdain even when he was at his happiest. That was one of the reasons he used so many emoticons when he typed. He knew  _ of  _ the importance of expressions but simply couldn't use them. He used emoticons to compensate in a way.

In the same vein he wasn't good at understanding his own feelings either. No matter how fluid and fluctuating emotions could be he could only really identify them as generally good or generally bad. Mixed with his cold face and unapproachable body language he was not a sociable type. 

His fourth job was in a small novelty shop, a tiny store sandwiched between a corner grocery and a takeout Chinese place. The store stocked wares he'd only ever seen online, books like  _ Scraps of Anxiety _ and the  _ Destroy this Journal _ and a notebook titled  _ A journal to write in when things get overwhelming and regardless of past performance I cannot find the confidence in myself to continue doing what I must in order to achieve the dreams I've been chasing for years…  _ in increasingly shrinking text until he couldn't read it at all. It was a shop for hipsters and people who are hipsters ironically. When he told his big sister she laughed. “I thought you hated hipsters.” 

He didn't, but people thought he did. People often confused his inability to make friends with a lack of desire to. 

It was a small local business, everyone who worked for the company worked in this shop. Five people in total, split into groups so that two people are manning the shop during all business hours, the boss being the fifth. Ketziah worked weekends, she was a full time high school student during the week, Makeena worked short hours all week, her schedule was spontaneous and spent all of her free hours posting her nephews missing person posters all over the city, and Vivian who was the boss's younger brother. Hadley… had never actually  _ seen _ the boss. They were always locked away in the back room. Hadley worked the most hours and had never seen them during any of them. It was a telephone interview. He didn't actually know their name.

It was the worse half of winter when Vivian came up to him, when it was still snowing but the holiday cheer was long dead leaving the brown slush in the streets and the need to shovel out your car. February. Christmas cheer dying paving way for seasonal depression. 

“Hey, Had.” On the other side of the counter Vivian rest his chin in the crook of his folded arms. He grinned lazily up at him. Viv was also a high schooler, a senior, a year above Ketziah but a year younger than her. It was hard for Hadley to tell whether he liked him or not. Vivian had this laid back aura to him that made him seem nice to everyone even the people he didn't like. The exact opposite of Hadley's problem. 

Hadley flipped through a book he picked up off of the shelf, one of those adult coloring books for relaxation, except it was called the  _ 50 Hotties Coloring Book _ . Every one of the “hotties” looked more or less the same, and at least 20 of them were named Chris. He raised his eyebrows and flicked his eyes up to meet Vivian's. “Hm?”

“You got a girlfriend?”

“No.” He looked back down at the coloring book at the eighth Chris in a row. 

“Aw, come on. You can tell me.” He pushed himself up bending over the counter pushing his face closer to Hadley's. “You got a crush. Right? You got a crush.” 

Hadley instinctively recoiled. “I never really… thought about it.”

“Ha-ha, Had.” Vivian laughed without humor before leaning closer. Their noses were practically touching and Vivian was wiggling his eyebrows fast enough to conduct electricity. “Come on, you can't get it past me! Why don't you open up and tell big brother Vivian what's the matter.”

“I am six years older than you.” Vivian's grin split and Hadley's cheeks warmed just a little, just enough. His face got red and that was all Vivian needed to know.

  
  
  


**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ hey… if we ever meet do you maybe wanna… go on a date? (#・・#) _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ o-oh…!  Id love to!  _

 

Yeah. He had a crush.

  
  


He moved out of his childhood home when he was 24. His mother was accommodating, after college they never insisted he move out or made him pay any rent, it was the guilt that eventually made him leave. His family was far from wealthy, in fact they have teetered on the brink of poverty ever since his father passed away when he was a child. He went to a local college, an hour from his home and he still decided to stay in a dorm to take any economic burden off of his mother from being in that house. His sister had teamed up with him, sending money from time to time for him to pay for whatever he could. Of course Isabella and her husband weren't by any means rich either, Isa being a public defender and her husband being faceless in the corporate heard. Ever since they were children Hadley and Isa agreed that when they grew up they were gonna buy mom a big house.

They hadn't quite saw that dream through just yet. Right now they did what they could to offer support to their mother and each other. 

There had been a long line if men before she married Severin Meeuwsen, people who wanted to earn their money and keep it in their grubby little hands. Severin was more than ready to offer some of his paycheck to their mother. And that was the defining factor, that was the sign that said that this man was meant to be her husband. 

Though she never could pronounce his last name correctly, no matter how long he'd tried to teach her and how hard she'd tried. At the end of the day she was Isabella Castilla-Meeuwsen on paper, but Isabella Castilla to the sentient world.

Isabella helped him to move out, while she couldn't afford to send money to mom AND help him rent an apartment she and Severin offered him a bed in their own apartment.

He said no twice and then yes. Isabella knew how he worked. One no one yes for food, two no’s one yes for all other major decisions.

They helped him move in, Isabella spoke to him as if she hadn't seen him in years. Hadley knew she was probably just happy to be able to speak in Spanish at home again. He and Severin made civil small talk as they helped him move his things into the spare bedroom, he was a kind man. He loved Isa a lot, Hadley could still see the way his eyes lit up when he saw her. He was happy for her. If anyone deserved such a loving and caring husband it was her.

When they left him to his own devices the first and only thing Hadley pulled out from the cardboard moving boxes was his laptop. Now that Severin and Isa we're somewhere else he could really take in the room. It was small, but he couldn't be picky. They had designed it to be a nursery, some remnants of that long gone dream remained. The glowing star stickies on the ceiling, the hook where the mobile should have hung, the pastel pale yellow walls, and a doorknob with no lock. Electrical outlets were covered by plastic plugs and the carpet was a kushy thing, something a baby couldn't get hurt on if it fell. 

The room had been empty for months, he knew. He remembered the way Isa had cried and cried when they got the news, the way Severin got choked up himself but did his damndest to put in a strong face to comfort her. Isa went into a slump of depression after that, not letting anyone into the nursery. That was why Hadley was so surprised by her offer for him to move in where her baby was  _ supposed _ to be. 

(When Isa went out to meet her friend Dina for lunch Severin explained it to him; he woke up in the middle of the night and she wasn't in bed. When he went looking for her he found her sitting in the nursery staring at the crib. The next morning they went to work deconstructing the nursery without a word.)

Hadley felt weird being in this room.

He untangled his laptop power cord from the ball of other miscellaneous wires he didn't recognize and crawled to the outlet pulling out the plastic placeholder and throwing it across the room behind him. He plugged in his laptop and crawled back to where it sat open on the floor. The lights were off, the curtains drawn, the only source of light in the room other than the blue glow of his screen imprinting his shadow onto the wall behind him was the light from the hallway that peaked in from the crack below the door. 

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ i finished moving ヽ(^o^)丿 _

**_Wooly:_ ** _  i didnt know you were moving ! _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ yeah… (^^ゞ it was a bit of an impulsive move ¯\\_(^_^’)_/¯ i didnt wanna be a burden on my mom but now im worried im gonna be a burden on my sister (;_; _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ no way !!!  you couldnt possibly be a burden! _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ i hope youre right Σ(´∀｀；) _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ i am _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ now ! Tell me all about your new house ! _

 

His sister's apartment was the only apartment above a photo studio downstairs, professional photography and editing, graduation pictures, wedding photos, family portraits. The owner of the company downstairs owned the building, his sister paying him rent for the apartment up here. It wasn't the cheapest or biggest place, but the peace that came with having no neighbors justified the price in Hadley's eyes. 

 

When Hadley was 25 Severin and Isa sat him down. He was expecting the “it's time to move out” conversation that he never got from his mother but he couldn't have been farther from the truth.

“Had, we've been letting you live here for free. And it's been great! I'm so glad I'm able to spend so much time with my cute baby brother again.” Isa reached over the table and pinched his cheek the way she used to when she picked on him as children. “But we're gonna need you to buy this place from us.”

“B-buy…?” He expected that he would have to start paying  _ rent.  _ The whole point of letting him stay here for free was the fact that he couldn't afford to buy a place himself. 

“We're planning on moving out.” Severin piped up, lacing his fingers through Isa’s. 

“This place is a bit too small for four.” Isabella was grinning. She exuded a radiant joy that Hadley could never mimic.

“Four…?” Hadley looked down at her stomach and then back up, Isa pressed her lips together trying to hold back a smile red lips eventually splitting to pearly teeth as she nodded her head rapidly. 

“No way, I’m so happy for you!” Hadley jumped up and wrapped his arms around her pulling her into a tight hug. Isabella choked out a sobbing laugh as the tears pooling up in her eyes finally started to spill over. She wiped her eyes through their hug. He couldn't even imagine how excited and scared she must have been. She and Severin hadn't tried for a baby in 6 years, too afraid to relive that tragedy a second time. But she was so happy now that you could almost forget how scared she truly was. 

Hadley laughed with her, he pulled his head back and pressed his forehead against hers his hands coming up to cup her face. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled like this. “Isa, I’m so happy for you.” 

 

It was six months later when she and Severin finally moved out, they found a lovely house in a suburban area a LONG train ride away. Isa's stomach had swelled and Hadley played the role of deconstruction, mover, and decorator. He did all the heavy lifting and Severin had to more or less completely restrain Isabella to stop her from helping. She hated sitting by as someone else did work for her. Usually Hadley and Severin would let her help, encourage it even, she was twice as strong as them with four times stamina, but her kid seriously looked like he was gonna come out ready to start middle school. He was huge. It was very likely that she would have to have a premature C-section. Apparently the baby got his grandma's height genes that Isabella was so cruelly robbed of. 

When they were settled in and Hadley stood in  _ his _ apartment he realized how big it was. How little stuff he actually owned. He didn't even know how to fill out all the extra space. 

 

The owner of the photo studio downstairs passed away. His daughter, with no intention of continuing that business, sold the space. On an impulse Hadley bought it from her. 

On an impulse Hadley opened his own bakery.

 

**_Wooly:_ ** _ im so happy for you !!!  _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ im so glad ＼(^o^)／  i was almost getting worried that id never make it this far (_ _;) _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ i knew you could do it !!!  i told you ! I wish i could come … _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ you will (*´ω｀*) im certain of it(^^♪ i couldn't have made it this far without you ♡  _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ oh please ! you did all the hard work !!! _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ but you encouraged me to do all of it (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ im so glad i met youヾ(｡>v<｡)ﾉﾞ _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ im glad too … you changed me as a person, did you know that ?  im sure im the luckiest person in the world  _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ not as lucky as me though (*^_^*)  _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ thank you so much for everything searyth  _

 

The barrier broke when he was 26. Mid September during one of the most memorable sunsets of his life. He was one of the first people to learn about it. 

**_Wooly:_ ** _ can we meet ? _

**_Macaron Man:_ ** _ of course (*´∀｀) when? _

**_Wooly:_ ** _ right now _

  
  
  


They sat together on a cliff at the base of Mount Ebott. Hadley's legs swung below him dangling over the sheer drop to the woods below, Searyths were neatly tucked under her. She sat farther away from the cliff's edge, scared of heights, she said. They sat next to each other, close enough to feel the heat from.the others body but not quite touching.

“Heaven knows what you think of me now.” Her voice was quiet. Melodic and lovely, Hadley fell even deeper. 

Hadley, never one for words, splayed his hand out over the stone they sat on, inching it closer to hers. He wove his pinky between her own, a ghost of the hand holding he'd always imagined. He always overestimated himself like that. He’s not the person he is online, not as confident, not as self assured. When he imagined their meeting he was expecting luggage being dropped in an airport terminal, running into his arms, taking him into a full body hug. 

He expected a human.  

Searyth looked at their hands and laced more of their fingers together. His hands were rough and calloused, just as she imagined. There were scars, old and new, from knicks of the knife or getting his hand stuck in the beater. His marred calloused perfectly imperfect hands woven deep into the fur between her fingers. 

Hadley sighed deeply and turned to face her, he turned his palm over taking her hand into his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. As he looked into her amber eyes he realized that she was so much more beautiful than the human girl he had imagined her as. That girl was a stock character, a figment made to put a face to the name. It was easier to fall in love with a face. But now that character shattered, her freckled skin shattered like porcelain, her bouncy red hair turns into the plastic strands of a Halloween store wig. She didn't speak in emojis and she wasn't Searyth any more. 

Searyth was in front of him. White wooly fur with curling horns growing from her forehead. Searyth was an adorable black tipped nose and snow white wool. Searyth was wearing a yellow sun dress. 

Hadley put his left hand gently on her cheek. His eyes flicked between her golds, “Searyth, can I kiss you?” 

Hadley had never seen a sheep blush. 

She looked down, up at him through her lashes, the essence of demure. She nodded slightly, squeezed her eyes shut tight as he leaned in towards her. 

She was stiff under him, as if she didn't know what to do. He ran the pad of his thumb over her knuckles, the other rubbed her cheekbone soothingly as he pressed his lips to hers. He felt her tension lessen. As she leaned into the kiss as well. Her free hand rest on top of his on her face. 

Hadley pulled away first.

He rest his forehead against hers, and looked into her eyes. “I think I love you.”

“I think I love you, too.”


End file.
